Georgia Bulldogs Basketball
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The Georgia Bulldogs men's basketball program is the men's
college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
team representing the
University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...
in
Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...
. Established in 1891, the team has competed in the
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
since its inception in 1932. As of 2020 the Bulldogs have amassed a record of 1,434–1,319. Though it has been historically overshadowed by the school's football program, the Bulldogs' basketball squad has had its share of successes, including a trip to the NCAA final Four in 1983 under head coach
Hugh Durham Hugh Nelson Durham (born October 26, 1937) is a retired American basketball coach. He was head coach at Florida State, Georgia, and Jacksonville. He is the only head coach to have led two different programs to their first Final Four appearances. ...
.


History


Conference affiliations

Georgia was a founding member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA), the first collegiate athletic conference formed in the United States. Georgia participated in the SIAA from its establishment in 1895 until 1921. In 1921, the Bulldogs, along with 12 other teams, left the SIAA and formed the
Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...
. In 1932, the Georgia Bulldogs left the Southern Conference to form and join the Southeastern Conference (SEC).


1931–1932

Coach Rex Enright led Georgia to great success in the old Southern Conference during the 1931 and 1932 seasons. His 1931 team finished with a 23–2 (15–1) record. The Bulldogs were upset in the Southern Conference tournament semi-finals by Maryland, 26–25. The 1932 team didn't have the dominating record that the 1931 team did, finishing 19–7 (7–4). But this team did something that the previous year's team could not do in winning the Southern Conference tournament defeating Mississippi State, Virginia, Duke, and North Carolina.


1981–1982

Coach Hugh Durham brought Georgia to its first ever post season appearance in 1981. That team finished with a 19–12 (9–9) record. They earned an NIT bid and the enthusiasm surrounding the program earned them home games in first defeating Old Dominion and then in a loss to South Alabama. The 1982 Bulldogs were 19–12 (10–8) were once again NIT bound. This time UGA made it all the way to the NIT Final Four defeating Temple, Maryland, and Virginia Tech before losing a heart breaker to Purdue at Madison Square Garden. These two teams marked the beginning of a post season streak of eight straight seasons, longest in Georgia basketball history. This string included three NCAA appearances (including one Final Four in 1983) and five NIT bids. This was a remarkable streak of consistency for a program that had never before experienced the post season beyond the SEC tournament.


1983

Former
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
star
Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...
is considered the greatest player in school history. However, Wilkins never played in the NCAA tournament; the Bulldogs made their first NCAA appearance in 1983—which would have been Wilkins' senior year had he not opted for the NBA. The 1983 team made it to the Final Four of the
NCAA Championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...
before being eliminated by eventual champion
North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...
. On the way to the Final Four, UGA defeated Virginia Commonwealth, #3 St. John's led by legendary coach Lou Carneseca and Chris Mullen, and defending national champion North Carolina led by Dean Smith and featuring Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins, and Brad Daugherty. The latter two victories coming at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY. UGA previously had won the Southeastern Conference tournament in Birmingham, AL defeating Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Alabama to earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.


1987

The 1987 Georgia basketball team had multiple key players injured during the season, leaving the team with only seven players on the roster. Coach Hugh Durham had no choice but to alter the playing style of his team after conference play had started, slowing the game down and "taking the air out of the ball." What looked to be a disastrous season, where the team might not win another game, turned into an inspiring one as the team rallied to an 18–12 (10–8) record and earning an NCAA tournament bid. When Durham ordered the NCAA tournament banner to be displayed at Stegeman Coliseum, he had it made in silver, rather than the traditional red, with the initials "TMW" at the bottom. The initials standing for what this team will forever be known as in UGA basketball history, "The Miracle Workers."


1996–1998

Tubby Smith led the Bulldogs to a 21–10 (9–7) record securing its first NCAA bid since the 1991 season. Georgia made the most of it by defeating Clemson and the West Regional's top seed, Purdue, in Albuquerque, NM before losing a heart stopping overtime game to Syracuse in the Sweet 16. In 1997, Georgia finished 23–9 (10–6) winning the prestigious Rainbow Classic holiday tournament in Hawaii, defeating Washington State, Memphis, and Maryland. UGA beat LSU, South Carolina, and Arkansas to advance to the SEC tournament final in Memphis, losing the final to Kentucky. Smith's successor, Ron Jirsa, led the 1998 Bulldogs to a 21–14 (8–8) record, reaching the 20 win mark for the third consecutive year for the first time in Georgia basketball history. They would go on to reach the NIT Final Four winning at Iowa, at North Carolina State, and beating Vanderbilt at home.


1999-2007


2008 SEC Tournament: The Dream Dawgs

In the 2007–2008 season, Georgia's men's basketball team came into the 2008 SEC men's basketball tournament with a 13–16 overall record and a 4–12 conference mark. At one point, the team sustained two five-game losing streaks during a 2-of-12 stretch in conference play. In the first round of the tournament, Georgia was slated to play Ole Miss, who had beaten the Bulldogs in the season-closer, securing the Rebels' only road SEC win of the season. The game went into overtime after Rebel David Huertas hit all three free throws after a three-point shooting foul, and looked to go into a second extra period after Chris Warren did the same. However, with 0.4 seconds left in overtime, Georgia senior Dave Bliss banked in the game-winner to shock the Rebels and send Georgia into a second-round matchup with
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
. On the night of March 14, 2008, tornadoes hit
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, in whose
Georgia Dome The Georgia Dome was a domed stadium in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta between downtown to the east and Vine City to the west, it was owned and operated by the State of Georgia as part of the Georgia World Congress Center ...
the SEC Tournament was housed. The Georgia-Kentucky matchup was rescheduled for the early afternoon of March 15, 2008, with the winner advancing to play the SEC West's #1 seed,
Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...
, later that evening. The remaining games in the tournament would be played at
Alexander Memorial Coliseum Hank McCamish Pavilion, nicknamed The Thrillerdome and originally known as Alexander Memorial Coliseum, is an indoor arena located on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the home of the Georgia Tech Yellow ...
, the basketball complex of
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
, UGA's in-state rival. Again playing an overtime game in which Georgia star
Sundiata Gaines Sundiata Kofi Gaines (born April 18, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. He played college basketball at the University of Georgia. High school career Gaines attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, ...
fouled out, Georgia freshman Zac Swansey hit a turnaround three-point jumper with 1.4 seconds left to give the Bulldogs the team's first ever win over Kentucky in the SEC Tournament. That night, Georgia defeated Mississippi State 64–60 to become the first team since Kentucky in 1952 to win two tournament games in one day, and the first-ever #6 seed from a division to advance to the modern (post-1992) SEC tournament finals. In the finals, Georgia faced
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
, which had lost to Georgia 82–69 in the regular season. Georgia prevailed again, at one point leading the Razorbacks by nineteen points en route to winning its first tournament championship in 25 years. Sundiata Gaines and Terrance Woodbury were both named to the All-Tournament Team, with Gaines winning the tournament's MVP. The improbable list of achievements—winning the tournament as a 6-seed, playing two games in one day to reach the finals, playing two games (against Kentucky and Mississippi State) in which Gaines fouled out with a substantial amount of time to play, doing it on a rival's home court, and winning four consecutive elimination games following a season during which their longest winning streak stood at three—earned the 2007–2008 team the nickname of Dream Dawgs. With the victory, Georgia secured itself an automatic bid in the 2008 NCAA tournament. Georgia's appearance in the tournament was the tenth overall in team history and the first since the 2002 NCAA basketball tournament. After their SEC Championship run, the Bulldogs were seeded 14th in the NCAA Tournament, playing against the #3 seeded
Xavier Musketeers The Xavier Musketeers are the 16 teams representing Xavier University in intercollegiate athletics, including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. The Musk ...
. After developing a lead early in the 2nd half, the Bulldogs could not hold on, as Xavier went on to win 73–61. Coach Dennis Felton failed to follow up the surprise successes of 2008 with victories in 2008–09, and he was fired on January 29, 2009.


2009–2018: Mark Fox era

On April 3, 2009,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
head coach Mark Fox was announced as the next head coach of the Bulldogs. In nine seasons with Fox, the Bulldogs posted a 163–133 record and made the NCAA tournament twice, in
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
and
2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
. In both instances, the Bulldogs exited in the Round of 64. Fox was fired on March 10, 2018 following an 18–15 finish to the 2017–18 season as the Bulldogs failed to qualify for any postseason competition.


2018–2022: Tom Crean era

On March 15, 2018, former Marquette and
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
head coach
Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to: *Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor *Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer *Tom Crean (basketball) Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...
was announced as the next head coach of the Bulldogs.


2022–present: Mike White era

On March 13, 2022, former
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
head coach Mike White was announced as the next head coach of the Bulldogs.


Team awards and records


Conference championships

Georgia has won one regular-season Southeastern Conference championship (1990) and two conference tournament championships ( 1983 and
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
). The Bulldogs were SEC Eastern Division co-Champs in 1994–1995. Georgia also was the Southern Conference champions for 1931–1932. Conference affiliations: *1891–95,
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
*1896–1920,
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...
*1921–32,
Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...
*1933–present,
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...


Postseason


NCAA tournament results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA tournament 12 times. Their combined record is 7–12. However, their appearances in 1985 and 2002 have been vacated by the NCAA making their official record 5–10. * Vacated by the NCAA


NIT results

The Bulldogs have appeared in the
National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...
(NIT) 14 times. Their combined record is 13–14.


Players


All-Americans


Basketball Hall of Fame

*
Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...
, inducted on April 3, 2006


Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year The Southeastern Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an award given to the player who has proven himself, throughout the season, to be the most exceptional talent in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The school with the most SEC Play ...

*
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
:
Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...
*
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
:
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Kentavious Tannell Caldwell-Pope (; born February 18, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named a McDonald's All-American as one of the top high school b ...
*
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
:
Yante Maten Yante Khaaliq Daiyann Maten (born August 14, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for San-en NeoPhoenix of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the University of Georgia. A 6’7” power forward from Pontiac ...


Notable former players

* Shandon Anderson * Willie Anderson *
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Kentavious Tannell Caldwell-Pope (; born February 18, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was named a McDonald's All-American as one of the top high school b ...
*
Nic Claxton Nicolas Devir Claxton (born April 17, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Georgia Bulldogs basketball, Georgia Bulldogs. Hig ...
* Anthony Edwards *
Terry Fair Terrance Delon Fair (born July 20, 1976) is an American football coach and former player. A first round pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, he played cornerback for several seasons from 1998 to 2005. He played college football at Tennessee. After his ...
*
Vern Fleming Vern Fleming (born February 2, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player who played twelve seasons in the NBA from 1984 until 1996. Born in New York City, Fleming grew up in the Queensbridge Housing projects in the Long Island ...
*
Sundiata Gaines Sundiata Kofi Gaines (born April 18, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. He played college basketball at the University of Georgia. High school career Gaines attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, ...
* Litterial Green * Jarvis Hayes *
Jumaine Jones Jumaine Lanard Jones (born February 10, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. An NBA player from 1999 to 2007 drafted from the University of Georgia, he played the small forward and power forward positions. Amateur career ...
* Alec Kessler * Bob Lienhard *
LaVon Mercer LaVon Mercer (לבן מרסר; born January 13, 1959) is an American-Israeli former basketball player. He played at the center position. As a high school senior, he averaged 37.6 points, 30.1 rebounds, and 12 blocked shots per game, and was name ...
* Mark Slonaker *
Jim Umbricht James Umbricht (September 17, 1930 – April 8, 1964) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed relief pitcher, he played Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1959 and 1963 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Colt .45s. Um ...
*
Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...
* Dennis Williams


Head coaches

† – Does not include 1 win and 1 loss from the 1985 NCAA tournament vacated due to sanctions. ‡ – Does not include 30 wins and 1 loss vacated due to sanctions.


Home venues

* Athens YMCA (1905–1911) *
Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...
(1911–1919) * The "Octagon" (1919–1920) * Moss Auditorium (1919–1925) *
Woodruff Hall Woodruff Hall was a 3,000 seat multi-purpose arena on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia. It opened in 1923, and was located on North Campus in the area bounded by Baldwin Street, Sanford Drive, and Hooper Street now occupied by th ...
(1923–1964) *
Stegeman Coliseum Stegeman Coliseum is a 10,523-seat multi-purpose arena in Athens, Georgia, United States. The arena opened in 1964 in honor of C. Sal Stegeman. It is home to the University of Georgia Bulldogs basketball and gymnastics teams. It was also the venu ...
(1964–present)


See also

*
Uga (mascot) Uga ( ) is the official live mascot of the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Since Uga I's introduction in 1956, every Uga has been owned by the Sonny Seiler family of Savannah, Georgia.Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate is an American college football rivalry between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The two Southern universities are located in the U.S. state of Georgia and are separated by . They have been heat ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Georgia Bulldogs Men's Basketball Basketball teams established in 1891 1891 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)